Surviving the Wild (2018) User Reviews

Nice coming of age story set in beautiful scenery

[joelleet-66249 · 7/10 · 25 February 2018]

Surviving the Wild (previously known as "Riley's Peak") is essentially a coming of age story. There is humor and emotion, as well as a little bit of language. It's a good movie for families with adolescent children.

It's a low budget movie but the cinematography is spectacular, showcasing terrific views around Kentucky. It was great seeing some of my favorite outdoor places utilized in the movie. Some locations I recognized were Natural Bridge and Cumberland Falls State Parks, the Kentucky River Palisades and the majestic Red River Gorge Geological Area. The state of Kentucky is prominent in the movie and there is even a brief appearance by Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin.

I was excited when I heard about the filming of this movie. I'm a fan of previous roles of Jon Voight and Jamie Kennedy, and I heard that Mr. Voight was very kind to people while in the area for filming.

You should give "Surviving the Wild" a watch!

Just Couldn't Buy In Here

[larrys3 · 5/10 · 3 April 2018]

When 13-year-old Shaun's (Aidan Cullen) grandfather Gus (Jon Voight) dies, to whom he was very close, Shaun wants to spread his ashes on "Delilah's Peak", in the Kentucky hillsides. However, his parents Rachel and Kris (Vail Bloom and Jamie Kennedy) will have none of it.

Encouraged and guided by the spiritual and "physical presence" of Gus, Shaun decides to take the risky trek to "Delilah's Peak" himself, along with Gus's aging dog Riley. He'll lie to each parent, who are divorcing and living separately, that he's going away with the other.

Shaun will encounter all kinds of dangers on this journey as you can imagine. Predictably, the parents will eventually figure out what has happened, and so do you think they might call the police? Let's just say that's one of a number of moronic decisions and plot elements that the viewer is asked to swallow.

I thought this movie, which has some spiritual themes thrown in along the way, has its moments but it just all seems to get more preposterous as it continues. Sorry, I just couldn't buy in to all of this. At least the cinematography was gorgeous.

To note, on my DVD copy obtained at Redbox, there were only Spanish subtitles, but I was able to access English subtitles through my remote closed captions.

Not So Wild

[rutzelb · 5/10 · 4 April 2018]

Young Shaun (Aidan Cullen) with Riley his dog, lies and steals his deceased grandfather Gus' (John Voight) Urn- from his mother to spread ashes on a remote mountain. We see Gus almost every step of the way and only Shaun can see and hear him.

This seems to be a made-for-tv movie. It's okay, but I didn't have any feeling for Shaun or for Riley either and that should have happened. John Voight was okay as the deceased Gus with his words of wisdom and encouragement to Shaun from time to time. The trip to the mountain and what Shaun encounters during the journey was kind of tame to be honest, and oh, yes, two men in the woods and we are not sure what that was all about. No, no Deliverance but those scenes did come to mind. Hey, this is a family movie, but who or what were these two men is a mystery that was never explained.

Later the almost-divorced parents learn they had been duped by Shaun and go looking for him on that remote mountain. No real suspense or tension within this movie. Like I said: a made for tv movie, a walk in the park. Tame.

Notables: Jamie Kennedy as Kristopher, Shaun's father; Vail Bloom as Rachel, Shaun's mother; Derick Van Orden as Jebediah one of the men in the woods; and Matthew Davis as Eartle as one of the men in the woods.

The cinematography should have been better than it was. There were too many shots too up close to the fauna and not enough long shots of the scenery except for maybe one shot. There was a nice pastel sunset though.

A note of caution: Most everyone knows, by now, to never spread cremation ashes and to secure the URN in a safe place.

At the end, would it surprise you to know that Rachel says she thinks she did see Gus too? Hmmmm................ (5/10)

Violence:: Yes, but not much. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Humor: Much between Gus and Shaun. Language: Brief small stuff. Rating: C

Tearjerker for the ignorant...

[dixiedoggg · 1/10 · 20 February 2019]

Terrible acting, unexplained goofiness, but beautiful scenery.

Kid's grampa died and he lies and steals to get up to mountaintop to spread gramp's ashes. Kid has a mental problem where he hallucinates and hears voices from dead grandpa. Kid goes through made up hell to reach destination and all turns out well.

It is real hard to feel any kind of compassion for any of the characters in this film. They all seem either totally devoid of feelings or they are annoying as hell. It seems the movie was written as the thing was filmed, disjointed and confused.

I hate movies where they show things unnecessary to the plot, and you are left wondering what is going on. The dog has what appears to be a go-pro camera on his collar, but never once is it alluded to or explained, so the viewer is left to wonder "What the hell is on that dog's collar?" for the whole film. Close ups of the mother had me wondering what that growth was on her upper lip. Where did the hillbillies come from and why, and why are they attacking and kidnapping the boy ? How come the dog didn't save the boy then instead of the next day ? Why in God's sake didn't the idiotic parents call the cops when their son went missing ? Why in the beginning of the film is it Autumn with leaves changing, but later on interspersed through the film the leaves on all the trees are green ? And then back to changing colors ? In the scene where the pathetic father checks on his wife in the tent at night, why is there a blinking red light in the forest behind him ? The poor dog is seen in almost every scene to be looking at the dog trainer behind the camera waiting for his next instruction...

After about 5 minutes I sensed this movie was a train wreck, but I wanted to see the end result. My wife did cry in the end though.

Jn Voight could have done much better than this drivel.

Don't Pay for it!

[shelleyballman · 3/10 · 17 September 2018]

I was completely offended at how Kentuckians were portrayed in this movie. The scenery was beautiful and I loved seeing Kentucky's scenery displayed so beautifully. The plot was great until the two guys from Deliverance showed up. I also so many filming mistakes in the movie. People in the background at the falls, backpack in the back of the truck in one shot not in the next. The only reason I even gave it a 3 was because of the scenery.

A tiny bit of the magical Red River Gorge

[stanleybrad · 5/10 · 19 December 2018]

It was great to see a tiny bit of Kentucky's beauty such as the Pallisades and the Red River Gorge. I liked the movie's premise and, of course Jon Voight, but the inconsistencies were tough to overcome. The camera work and editing left a lot to desire; flopping in and out of 4K, once I think they literally dropped the camera, and some amateur drone footage. However, the Gorge is a magical place, with the highest concentration of natural arches east of Utah's Arches NP, and as a Kentuckian who's backpacked this whole area for over 30 years I hung on for the views which were great to see on the screen.

You Always Have Something

[lavatch · 8/10 · 12 April 2018]

"Surviving the Wild" is an adventure story with some quirky characters and humor. It doesn't have quite the thrill of Jack London's "White Fang," the novel that the young protagonist is reading during the film. The conceit of the film is that a young boy's deceased grandfather serves as his guide on his journey to scatter the grandfather's ashes in a favorite mountain site.

The boy travels alone withonly his backpack and his faithful dog Riley. But the grandfather is with him in spirit. And, in the case of this film, the grandfather, as played with great gusto by Jon Voigt, is with the boy in presence as well.

Some of the best moments of the film are the wise sayings of the wise guy grandfather. While some of his jokes fall flat, his advice is rich in wisdom. He counsels the boy to remember the "Rule of Threes"--3 minutes without air; 3 hours without regulated body temp; 3 days without water; 3 weeks without food. The boy loses his backpack in the fierce river rapids and is briefly unconscious. No problem. There is always the "Rule of Three" as a guide to survival.

The journey of the boy is filled with almost every conceivable occurrence, including the lost backpack, a near attack from a bear, and the appearance of two scary backwoods guys who act like characters from out of "Deliverance." Again, no problem! One of the sage sayings of Gramps: "When you run into a problem, look up!" In so doing, the grandson recognizes that there is always something bigger. After all, "problems are like clouds in the sky; here in the moment, then gone in the next."

The treatment of the boy's parents was also thoughtful. While they were in the middle of a divorce, it was clear that both the mother and father truly loved their son. Another one of the sayings of the grandfather was, "real fear is not living the right way." By the end of the film, the parents seem to have learned something from that one.

The film was more than a story of survival. Again, the grandfather sums up best the overarching theme: "You always have something."

Neat little family adventure romp

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 3 May 2022]

13-year-old boy Shaun (a solid performance by Aidan Cullen) ventures into the Kentucky wilderness with his dog Riley in tow to scatter the ashes of his recently deceased grandfather Gus (a fine, lively, and affecting portrayal by Jon Voight) from the top of a remote mountain.

Director Patrick Alessandrin relates the engrossing story at a constant pace, maintains a sweet thoughtful tone throughout, makes nice use of the breathtaking sylvan scenery, and further spices things up with amusing touches of amiable humor. Shaun's love and loyalty for his feisty grandpa gives this movie a good deal of depth and poignancy. Moreover, there are sturdy supporting contributions from Jamie Kennedy as Shaun's workaholic dad Kristopher and Vail Bloom as Shaun's stubborn mom Rachel. A lovely film.